The City of Lost Fortunes

Debut author Camp transforms his native New Orleans into a realm of magic and gods that’s still deeply wounded from Hurricane Katrina. Street magician and demigod Jude Dubuisson used to magically locate lost objects and people, but he quit after Katrina overwhelmed the city with loss. The slaying of the god of fortune forces Jude into a maelstrom as he learns that he is inextricably bound with the murder, other murders that follow, and the lives of everyone in New Orleans. Camp’s fantasy reads like jazz, with multiple chaotic-seeming threads of deities, mortals, and destiny playing in harmony. This game of souls and fate is full of snarky dialogue, taut suspense, and characters whose glitter hides sharp fangs. Jude is an engaging, once-cheerful trickster turned hermit and reluctant hero; if his destiny is bleak, he decides he might as well go all-out to save whomever he can and the city he refuses to abandon. Any reader who likes fantasy with a dash of the bizarre will enjoy this trip to the Crescent City. (Apr.)